* Our film festival awards over $50,000 in prizes annually.
* One of the leading smartphone film festivals in the world
* Festival Ambassadors include Phillip Noyce, Kriv Stenders, Kerry Armstrong, Nicole da Silva, Christopher Stollery, Pieter de Vries, Kara Rose and Emily Prior.
* Selected films will screen at our live festival in Sydney, Australia and in our Online Festival at SF3 2024 happening November 2024.

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SF3 - the SmartFone Flick Fest is Australia’s international smartphone film festival and one of the leading and most innovative film festivals in the world.

Open to filmmakers of all ages from every country; from first-time filmmakers to professionals and from kids, tweens and teens all the way to adults. As long as your film is shot entirely on a smartphone or tablet, your film is eligible for submission. Our 2023 Festival Ambassadors were Hollywood legend Phillip Noyce, Kerry Armstrong, Christopher Stollery, Kriv Stenders, Nicole da Silva, Jason van Genderen, Anthony Kierann, Pieter de Vries, disability advocate Emily Prior, and First Nations Director/Writer, Darlene Johnson. Our esteemed judging panel consists of the cream of the Australian and Hollywood film industries all here to celebrate mobile and tablet filmmaking.

We have 5 categories in 2023. They are:

1. The SF3 Best Film for short films 20 mins and under. The films must be entirely shot on smartphones or tablets, with the exception that a very minimal amount of Drone footage is allowed. The films can be edited on any device and with any program and external equipment like lenses and mics can be used. Within this category we will also award the #FILMBREAKER Award for first-time filmmakers and the Luma Touch Finished on Mobile Award for films both shot and edited on a mobile device as additional prizes. The Official Selection from this category will be screened in our 2023 Gala Finals and will vie for our top prizes.

2. The SF3 Best Feature Film. This is for feature films shot entirely on smartphones and tablets. A minimal amount of drone footage is allowed. Films must be from 40 mins and no maximum.

3. The SF3 Kids Award for filmmakers 16 and under at the time of filming. All films must be shot entirely on smartphones and tablets. A minimal amount of drone footage is allowed. The time limit is up to 10 mins. Longer kids film that are really fantastic and justify being longer will be accepted with permission from us at sf3@sf3.com.au

4. The SF360 Award for 360, AR and VR videos and films up to 20 mins.

5. The SF3 Mini Mobile Award is for films up to a maximum of 3 minutes in length, in any genre.

Everyone has a great idea for a short film and a potential movie camera in their pocket, so no excuses. Here’s your chance to start filming and be in the running to share in over $50,000 worth of prizes awarded annually, and have your film screened on one of Australia's premiere screens in front of a global audience at our 2023 Festival next November plus at SF3 Online Virtual Festival.

Our finalist films and winning feature films will be selected from all the entries to screen at SF3 2023. We will be holding live screenings and awards in Sydney, Australia and our festival will include live screenings, red-carpet events, VIP party, networking events, panel discussions and masterclasses. SF3 2023 will be held live in Sydney in November and for 2 weeks online. Exact dates TBC.

Our 2022 Festival was held in full venue partnership with The Actors Centre Australia in their beautiful state of the art cinema in the cultural hub of Leichardt in the Inner West of Sydney. Our 2021 Festival was pushed to early 2022 due to an ongoing lockdown in Sydney and was held in partnership with Palace Chauvel Cinemas and the Actors Centre Australia. In 2019 and 2020, SF3 was held at Event Cinemas, George St, right in the heart of Sydney, Australia. We were one of the few festivals to go live in 2020 in a sell-out Sydney show! Our 2018 Gala Finals were also a complete sell-out at the Sydney Opera House and our SF3 Kids and Shortlist Screenings were held at Event Cinemas Bondi Junction. From 2015-2018 we held our Gala Finals at the iconic art deco Chauvel Cinema in Paddington, Sydney. We are passionate advocates for the showcasing of the best smartphone films from all around the world, show up on Sydney's top big screens.

Many of our past Gala and other finalist films have been invited to screen around the world at our partner film festivals including the International Mobil Film Festival in San Diego, MINA, the Dublin Smartphone Film Festival and more. The opportunities are endless for cellphone filmmakers and 2021 entries have even been sold to streaming networks and in-flight entertainment channels.

All films MUST be shot entirely on a smartphone or tablet, meet our time requirements and you can use any editing software, apps and phone additions, and you can edit on a PC, laptop, tablet or your phone. To enter SF3 you can shoot on any mobile device: iPhone, iPad, Samsung, Oppo, Huawei or more.

So, pull your phone out of your pocket and start filming, it really is that easy!

Awards & Prizes

SF3 film festival is proud to award over $50,000 worth of prizes from our amazing sponsors including prize packs from our our Major Sponsors - Luma Touch & Filmic Pro Silver partners Melodie & Accounting Heart, our Bronze Partners - Chicken & Chips Casting, Old Kempton Distillery, Polar Pro, Rubber Monkey & NIDA and prize partners Shotlister, Ink Tip, Final Draft, Screen Actors Workshop, Power Productions and Story Board Quick, the Australian Cinematographer's Society, Screen Producers Australia, the Australian Writer's Guild, Zacuto, SPA, iPitch TV, Ribbet, AFI/AACTA, Dolby, Backstage, AGSC, Star Now, Film Local, Spineless Wonders & the Actors Centre Australia as well as leading industry mentorships.

Prizes awarded: In 2024 we will be offering over 35 Awards across our 5 screenings. Here is the breakdown of awards across each screening each with a prize pack from our sponsors. Annually we give away over $50,000 worth of prizes from our generous partners including memberships, apps, lenses, microphones, classes, mentorships, a brand new iPhone and iPad and soo much more.

THE SF3 GALA AWARDS celebrating the best in smartphone filmmaking:
SF3 Best Film Award
SF3 People’s Choice Award
SF3 Best Director Award
SF3 Best Cinematography Award
SF3 & ACS Best Cinematography Runner-Up Award
SF3 Best Screenplay Award
SF3 Best Documentary Award
SF3 Best Editing Award
SF3 Best Original Score Award
SF3 Best Actress Award
SF3 Best Actor Award
SF3 & Luma Touch Finished on Mobile Award (for films both shot and edited on a mobile device)
SF3 & WIFT NSW Best Female Creative Award
SF3 First Nations Award supported by Dolby (for films made by a filmmaker that identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander)
SF3 Community & Diversity Award (for a film that is either shot by or that is about and features stories, creatives, filmmakers and actors from under-represented communities such as the LGBTQIA+ community, First Nations, Indigenous and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander filmmakers and more.)
SF3 Founders’ Flick Pick
#FILMBREAKER Award (for the most promising first-time and/or emerging filmmaker)
SF3 & Spineless Wonders Best Adaptation Awards ( one award for the author of the winning Micro Fiction and the second for the filmmaker)
SF3 Chicken & Chips Casting Award
SF3 Gala Finalists

SF3 KIDS celebrating the best mobile and tablet filmmaking by children, tweens and teens
SF3 Kids Best Film Award High School
SF3 Kids Best Film Award Primary School
SF3 Kids Best Director Award
SF3 Kids Best Cinematography Award
SF3 Kids Best Screenplay Award
SF3 Kids Best Editing Award
SF3 Kids Best Documentary Award
SF3 Kids Best Actor Award
SF3 Kids Best Actress Award
SF3 Kids Finalists

SF3 MINI Mobile Award for micro films 3 mins or less shot on cellphones
SF3 Mini Best International Film
SF3 Mini Best Australian Film
SF3 Mini Highly-Commended Awards x4
SF3 Mini Finalists

SF3 FEATURE FILM for smartphone feature films
SF3 Best Feature Film Award
SF3 Feature Film Finalists

SF3 & MINA Film Festival Official Selection Films

Rules & Terms

Our SF3 film festival rules are simple:
1. Your film must be shot entirely on a smartphone or tablet, or a 360 camera for SF360. The only exception is we will allow a small amount of drone footage. The amount is discretionary but must be an insignificant amount of your film and used only sparingly.
2. Films for the SF3 Gala Finals Official Selection must be no longer than 20 minutes including titles and credits. There is no minimum time limit. Films for the SF3 Mini Mobile Category must be a max of 3 minutes. There are no minimum time limits.
3. Films for our feature film category must be a minimum of 40 minutes in length, no maximum time limit.
4. If your film is between 20-40 minutes them please write to us at sf3@sf3.com.au to discuss how you can enter and still screen at SF3 as we have screened films of this length in the past.
5. SF3 accepts any and all genres.
6. All scripts and ideas must be your original material.
7. Copyright material can only be used if you have written permission to do so, and we can ask at anytime to see this permission.
8. You can use any software or apps to edit your video and audio, and can edit on any device.
9. You can use any software for colour correction or special effects.
10. You can use external microphones, lenses, lighting, tripods, etc.
11. Your film must meet all the terms and conditions of the festival to be eligible.
12. The judges’ decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding film selections and prize winners.
13. SF3 Kids Flicks Category and Competition is for Australian and International filmmakers aged 18 years and under at the time of filming. This award is designed to nurture kids, tweens and teenage filmmakers. A kids film for the purposes of SF3 is a film who's director and/or screenwriter are 18 years or under at the time of filming. All other roles on the film, including the DOP and actors and editors may include people of all ages, however, the film must be the idea of a filmmaker 18 years and under and all concepts of editing, camera angles and all other relevant artistic choices must be primarily decided upon by the filmmaker 18 years and under who enters the film. SF3 Kids films must be a max of 10 minutes in length (there is room for longer films if they are of an exceptional standard).
14. SF3 is open to filmmakers from every country.
15. Films will be accepted from filmmakers of every age.
16. The WIFT NSW Award is for the best female creative, decided by our judges, who worked on one of our Official Selection films in a crew capacity, not limited to the producer, writer, DP, etc. The director of each film will be asked to nominate an outstanding female that worked on their film, and this can include themselves.
17. The SF3 Community Award is for a film which showcases stories, actors and/or people that are under-represented on our screens and showcases them in a moving, positive, or special way. This will be decided by our judging panel. People from CALD backgrounds, LGBTQIA+ filmmakers, First Nations and Indigenous Creatives, people living with a disability and female filmmakers are encouraged to enter.
18. The Luma Touch Finished on Mobile Award is for a smartphone film that must be both completely shot and edited on a smartphone or tablet only. You may use any editing program, but you must show us evidence that it was edited on a device; evidence includes screenshots of you editing or a short BTS of you editing the film.
19. To be eligible for the SF3 Best Feature Film Award, your film must be a Sydney public premiere, but it is allowed to have screened in other cities and countries.
20. In special circumstances archival footage may be used in a very minimal amount to add context or needed substance to your film. You must email us at sf3@sf3.com.au for permission.
21. The SF3 First Nations Award supported by Dolby is open to Australian filmmakers who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
22. For the #FILMBREAKER Award, this must be your first film you've ever made or the first film that has had a public screening as we are celebrating first-time and emerging filmmakers shooting on a cellphone with this award.
23. For the SF3 & Spineless Wonders Best Adaptation Award, you must have selected and adapted one of the Micro-Fiction works from the SF3 website and you must enter this into the Micro-Fiction category. You must have shot this film on your mobile device.
24. You can shoot your film using any mobile device including iPad, iPhone, Oppo, Samsung, Huawei, Nokia, Sony, Google, any other tablet or more.

Check out our site for full T&C's and to ask any questions - www.sf3.com.au
59 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
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Networking
  • Dannie Spenxer

    The best ever..... I really love how they appreciate and encourage young hearts, triggering creativity. I hope to always be part of sf3.

    November 2022
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    Response from festival:

    And Dannie, we hope to always have you a part of SF3 too! Thank you for your wonderful film and for being a wonderful person too. See you at SF3 2023.

  • Danny Barton

    SF3 was my inspiration behind creating a mobile short film and throughout the entire journey the team have been beyond amazing. I was so pleased my first film Ghosted was selected as a Gala Finalist in the 2022 festival. Communication from the team is constant, you know exactly what is needed and everything is so professional. The only bad thing about the festival was the face I. moved to London and couldn't be there to experience all the wonderousness (is that a word) that the festival brings.

    November 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Danny Danny Danny! Where do I start except by saying we love you and wish more than anything that Sydney and London were but a short train ride away! Can't wait to see so many more films from you and to have been such a big part of your filmmaking beginnings.

  • zev howley

    Terrific festival. Very supportive. Fantastic organisers

    November 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Zev, thank you. Means a lot and we loved not only having you screen at our festival but also getting to know you over the course of our Sydney and Melbourne screenings. Hope to see you back in 2023.

  • Rabiya Nazki

    A wonderful experience and a great networking opportunity. Looking forward to submitting more films on this platform.

    November 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Rabiya, thank you. Your film was an honour to screen and we have never shown anything like it before. Thank you or your artistic talents and hope to see many more films from you at SF3.

  • Anton Califano

    I was so pleased for my film to be selected by SF3. They are super organised, and you feel that they really care about your film and do a lot to help promote it. Hoping I can take part again in SF3 in the future with another film!

    April 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you Anton. This means a lot to us and we loved working with you and your incredibly powerful mini doco. Hope to see many more films from you over the years.